Friday, May 6, 2016

I Guess New York City Truck Drivers Get Paid Better Than I Thought

The federal probe is checking whether some donors to de Blasio’s mayoral run were either reimbursed for their contributions or given cash to pass along to the campaign in order to skirt the city’s donation limits, according to sources.The city’s campaign finance law prohibits individuals from contributing more than $4,950 to a candidate running for a citywide office during one election cycle. And it’s illegal to give someone else money to donate to a campaign....A DNAinfo New York examination of de Blasio’s campaign finances has found some unusual contributions — one commercial driver who flip-flopped about making two sizeable donations and a Bronx landlord who said he did not give $4,500 to the mayor’s transition team, even though records show he did.City Campaign Finance Board records show that two commercial drivers for a Queens beauty product wholesaler gave nearly $10,000 each to de Blasio’s mayoral run and transition team in less than two months time.One driver is Rafael Zepeda, who lives in a third-floor walk-up in Corona and donated $5,000 by bank check to the de Blasio campaign on Oct. 27, 2013. On his contribution card, he listed his occupation as a driver for the wholesaler, Primary One LLC.Zepeda made the contribution via a fundraiser thrown at a Washington Heights nightclub, but he did not attend the soiree, records show.The maximum donation an individual can make to a city candidate’s election campaign is $4,950, so the de Blasio team later reimbursed Zepeda $50, records show.After de Blasio won the election, Zepeda on Dec. 10, 2013 donated another $4,500 to his mayoral transition committee — the maximum contribution allowed under city rules to a transition team.When DNAinfo reached Zepeda by phone late last month, he initially said he made the donations.Hours later, Zepeda told DNAinfo that he did not make the donation and that he spells his name “Cepeda” not “Zepeda.” However, campaign records and a November 2015 arrest for driving without a valid license show his name is spelled “Zepeda.”Records also show that Zepeda’s co-worker, Jose Zepeda, also donated the maximum amount to de Blasio’s campaign and transition team.Jose donated $5,000 at an Oct. 21, 2013, fundraiser. The de Blasio campaign also reimbursed Jose $50 for contributing over the $4,950 limit.Jose, who on his contribution card listed his home as an Elmhurst apartment and his occupation as a driver for Primary One LLC, later donated $4,500 to de Blasio’s transition team on Dec. 10, 2013.